employee management | iRestore Restoration Software

Tag: employee management

10 Steps to Organize your Warehouse

Posted on by iRestore
By Lisa Lavender M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.
September 20, 2023

You may have tried to mobilize Operation: Organize the Warehouse, or it may be on the “TO DO” list. Because there is never enough time, or space, in our restoration businesses, we need to plan, schedule, and make it happen. Described in the article, “Roll it Uphill – A Lesson in Leadership”, is the mindset of taking action and leading the way instead of placing blame on your team for the things that don’t get accomplished. Take the example of a new piece of expensive equipment that gets lost and forgotten in a messy collection of equipment, cords, and supplies. It happens all the time, right? What would be the result if the thought process was more of the following…

  • Does the new piece of equipment have a designated, labelled place where it belongs?
  • Did this designated place get communicated to the team?
  • Does the rest of your equipment and supplies have assigned shelf or floor space?
  • Do you currently have space capacity for additional equipment? Might it have been better to rent it?

In the article, Improving Effectiveness, Efficiency, Profitability by Looking outside the Industry, you will find inspiration in other industries that could best help us design and maintain the warehouse.  In disciplines described, you will find simple approaches and guidance that will help you lay-out and organize your production and storage areas in a way that will maximize your efficiency and reduce your headaches.

To move it off the list of dreams and goals and make it a reality, let us focus on what is to be gained:   

  1. Efficiency:  Operation efficiency is tied to reducing the number of resources needed to deliver a high-quality product or service. In this case, decreasing the amount of time required to locate, mobilize, clean, maintain and repair your equipment and supplies will increase:
    1. Profitability
    2. Productivity (which also results happier work force)
    3. Customer Service
  2. Asset Management:  Our equipment, supplies, and if you do contents, the responsible custody of customer property, is an important part of our operation. The better we can track, maintain, and care for our assets, the better our operational results.
  3. Credibility and Pride:  In our eLearning lesson on the custodial closet, instructor Mark Warner describes this area as the “back of the house” and explains that during an audit, the first place he inspects is the “back of the house.”  The general organization, housekeeping and cleanliness of this space is the evaluated. In our industry, the warehouse, is the “back of the house” and is a reflection on the company.
  4. Mindset and Culture:  As we produce clean and healthy environments for our customers, it is vitally important for us to provide a facility that exemplifies quality, efficiency, and pride. This creates a culture and mindset that is reflected in the personal appearance of our staff, their vehicles, and the condition of the jobsite. If we expect clean, organized, and safe job sites, it starts with how well we manage and control our shop or warehouse.

The following is a practical list of steps offered not as an expert in the field but as an accountant-turned-restorer with a passion for our operations, workflows, and cultures. Depending on your status, you may adjust the list to meet the needs of your organization.

Before executing your project, I offer the following tips, and my joke for managing anything is, “It is just like running a restoration job!”

  • Assign and grant the authority to a project manager who is ultimately responsible for goals, objectives, and managing the resources.
  • Each task should have a clearly defined expectation, a person assigned to the successful execution, and start dates and completion dates.
  • As a project, formalize periodic updates and adjust the plan as needed.

Simple Steps:

  1. Assign a project manager and consider a project team.
  2. Evaluate your space.
    1. Look at it with fresh eyes.
    2. What is working, what is not working?
  3. Evaluate your Inventory.
    1. Supplies, Equipment, Tools, Contents, Other.
    2. Get rid of what you do not need or use.
    3. Consider how your inventory is used in your workflows.
  4. Design the space in support of inventory, workflows, services, and needs. Sketch out several layouts using the following tips:
    1. Maximize space and fully utilize the volume of your space.
    2. Allow for safe and clear walkways.
    3. Consider the organization systems that you may need like, shelving, hooks, etc.
    4. Other considerations such as Safety and Cross-contamination
  5. Designate locations for the inventory and use the following tips in making these assignments:
    1. Efficient workflows that consider our movements, frequency of use, proximity to loading, weight of the equipment and supplies, and service commonality. An example is we do not want to put a piece of equipment on a shelf that is 12 feet overhead that is used daily. We want to minimize the movement and time it takes to gather necessary supplies and equipment to clean a carpet.
    2. Utilize best practices and traditional vocabulary in warehousing and make it part of your culture.
      1. Example:  Zone | Aisle | Rack | Shelf | Bin.
      2. The Vacuum is stored in Zone A, Aisle 2, Shelf 1, Bin b = A.2.1.b
    3. Workspaces may include the need to accommodate:
      1. Contents
      2. Equipment cleaning, maintenance, repair
      3. The movement of forklifts or pallet jacks
  6. Choose an Inventory Management System / software solution and maintain it.
    1. The system should support designated storage location and movements. You can read more here:  Restoring Success, Inventory Management 
    2. Plan for the pieces will present you with a graphic on the movement that must be accounted for and other considerations in maintaining your warehouse system.
  7. Acquire all tools and supplies needed to support the plan:
    1. Shelves, dividers, hooks
    2. Tape:   Use the proper tape on the floor to create zones, aisles, walkways, and other designations in support of your design.
    3. Ladders, forklifts, other tools, and systems that supports the safe accessibility of the inventories.
  8. Signs, labels, and color coding are some simple solutions that will help the team utilize  and maintenance of the system.  Consider a grocery store, with signs telling us where to find condiments. You would not put an air mover in a spot for the condiments! (Bad restoration joke?)
  9. Supplies Management:
    1. Establish documented minimum and maximum supply inventory levels that is appropriate for the space designed. Having a two-year supply of X is not practical for maximizing our warehouse space.
    2. Establish a restocking protocol that rotates the supplies in accordance with a First In – First Out approach. This will ensure a rotation and avoid potential spoilage of your supplies.
    3. Job costing can be supported if it is part of your supply management systems.
  10. Maintaining the Warehouse:  As part of the operations, protocols, the systems, and warehouse need to be maintained so that the company and team can continue to enjoy the benefits of the project.
    1. Establishment of Receiving Protocols. A few examples to consider:
      1. Reviewing shipping documents, reconciling them with the shipment and forwarding the slips to accounting
      2. Cleanliness:  New supplies are sometimes received and covered in dirt and grime. We do not want dirty supplies on our shelves and worst, yet we do not want them landing on a job site.
    2. Have clearly defined expectations and assignment of responsibilities in all cleaning and maintenance related efforts.
      1. Person assigned (rotation)
      2. Frequency Schedule
      3. Use of a checklist.
    3. Visual Inspections and Supply Checks:
      1. Assigned and periodic inspections
      2. Supplies, even with a digital management solution, should have assigned and periodic inventory checks.

Warehouse management is an ongoing practice that helps our operation, efficiency and can inspire the team. As with much in our industry, changes, technology, and evolution, will often require on-going redesigns of the space and systems. I have seen many beautifully organized and clean warehouses in my travels. Those of you who have mastered the feat of keeping order in the chaos, please share your tips in the comments below. May your well-planned, systems- driven, and organized warehouse bring you much Restoring Success.

How Do You Know What You Need To Do At Your Restoration Company?

Posted on by iRestore

company culture, employee management, restoration business leadershipBy Lisa Lavender M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.

In our day-to-day, leadership, managers, teams, are often identifying problems and setting goals. As we enter a new year, you may even be working off a strategic list of goals that include business development initiatives and operational outcomes.

As we take action on these goals, very simply we need to know what we need to do to accomplish the objectives. How do we do that? Needs Analysis. In the development of training programs, this is the critical first step as it gives clarity to the desired outcome and the skills and knowledge needed to accomplish the outcomes. In How to Train Someone, this process is broken down into steps with the first being, “determine the objective.” It sounds so simple, but is it? As you consider a water technician, make a list of all the skills and knowledge needed to accomplish what you define as the objective. It may begin to look like:

  • Communication Skills: Customers and Internal
  • Understanding and ability to follow company SOPs
  • Extract Water
  • Establish a Drying Plan and Set Equipment on an X size loss
  • Gather, record, interpret data, make adjustments to the drying plan

As we move through the process, the training involved for each element needs to be broken down and supported with defined learning objectives. As we apply the concept of needs analysis to achieve a “desired outcome,” when a skill gap is identified, then training is likely what you need to do. However, a detailed and deliberate needs analysis may reveal other initiatives that require attention and action.

The free Needs Analysis template is a simple approach to help you and your teams break down what you need to do based on a desired outcome. The first page is a simple example for the function of mapping and monitoring a water loss. The second page is a blank that you can use to break down any goal or desired outcome.

The Needs Analysis categorizes the action items into three areas:

  1. Operations: This can encompass a wide range of items from warehouse organization, clearly defined procedures, to cultural issues.
  2. Tools | Equipment | Supplies: This area can include everything from software to supplies that can contribute to a wide range of goals like quality, efficiency, communication, etc.
  3. Skills: This area can also be vast and as you drill down on what you need to do. I encourage you to push beyond some of the obvious skill gaps and consider areas like logistics and implementation, in addition to what may seem like obvious technical skills. Of course, we don’t want to forget about the soft skills needed that, in fact, can be developed in our organizations.

It is important to note that the categories are not exclusive of each other and at times may be intertwined. As an example, if we purchase a tool, but fail to implement it into our workflows and train the team, it will not be an effective means to the desired outcome. (It does not work if you do not use it.) If we train on a skill, but do not have systems, leadership, and a culture that supports a learning journey to achieve the goal, again, the impact will be diminished.

The first step is to clearly define our desired outcome. As a statement, on the surface, it sounds very simple. Much frustration and distractions can be avoided by starting with the desired outcome that teams can be clear on and rally around. As you define the desired outcomes, there are no rules. It can be in the form of goals, an improvement, or an initiative with a defined outcome. Examples:

  1. Increase sales 5%
  2. Reduce errors in monitoring data recording by 70%
  3. Train new water technicians to be able to do X within the first 90 days
  4. Improve employee retention by 50%
  5. Improve efficiency on demolition by 20%

In the example in the download, “Mapping & Monitoring a Water Loss” the desired outcome may look like:

  • Improve the efficiency by 15%
  • Reduce errors by 80%

As you review the example, you will find only a few samples of the types of action needed by category. As you conduct your needs analysis it is important to utilize a root cause approach, you can review process in Getting to the ROOT of the Problem. Understanding the elements of the organization and the relationships is also critical, I refer to this as a keen sense of Organizational Awareness. Being a good listener and engaging everyone in the company is not only beneficial to the needs analysis process but it is a way to engage the team. Needs analysis can be conducted by a variety of techniques from analyzing company records, digital surveying, to interviewing. The important thing is that we have good information to identify gaps and build our action plans.

Team Building Group Activity

  1. Describe a Desire Outcome (Goal)
  2. Engage your group in team formation
  3. Give each team 10 minutes to identify a gap that would help achieve what was defined in #1 and the categories of What We Need to Do. Operations | Tools, Equipment, Supplies | Skill. They do not need to expand on the details just all applicable categories that are applicable to the gap that they identified.
  4. Engage in presentations and group discussions about the Gap and the particulars of the areas regarding the action item categories.

The Needs Analysis approach is only a first step. Taking time to break down what you need to do in a thorough and deliberate manner will improve your ability to reach desired outcomes. Action plans with roles and responsibilities that are executed create the movement towards our goals.

May identifying what you need to do bring you much continued Restoring Success.

Things I Learned From Running A Restoration Company

Posted on by iRestore

company culture employee managementBy Lisa Lavender M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.

I absolutely do not know “everything” and am grateful to learn new things every day. As I consider myself an operations person, my work is never done. I have learned and continue to learn from mistakes, others, and anywhere else I can find knowledge. As I continue to expand and grow, I keep saying: “It is just like running a restoration job!” I do not know if those that I work with are finding it obnoxious. However, I keep finding myself amused.

You may have heard of the best-selling book, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum. You will find his first nine of sixteen thoughts listed below and see that they are quite profound:

“1. Share everything.
2. Play fair.
3. Don’t hit people.
4. Put things back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
7. Say you’re SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush…….”

At a glance, you can see the value of these lessons shared by the author.

I am still learning in my role operating a restoration company. The things that I have learned in restoration thus far have been put to good use in other ways — in restoration software, restoration training, and six years as a co-owner and operator of a professional arena football team. I also have had the opportunity to share what I learned with friends in other unrelated industries.

As I continue my career journey, I am grateful to learn, apply, and share some of the things that I have taken from my experience in the restoration industry. The following list has served me well thus far:

  1. Proactively Manage Expectations
    Customers, members of the team, and all involved are best served when we proactively manage expectations. We should train and develop our best practices around this concept.

    1. Be upfront and honest.
    2. Explain the process and/or experience: As we seek to master this in our organization, this applies to both “negative” and “positive” elements of the experience.
  2. Manage Projects
    Project management skills are essential to not only restoring homes and businesses but also executing anything that needs to be done. Projects should be managed efficiently and effectively by:

    1. Establishing a scope of work
    2. Setting timelines and accountability
    3. Budgeting
    4. Managing Resources – in-house and subcontracted
    5. Effective communications
    6. Orders of operations – i.e., critical paths
  3. “Start With The End In Mind”
    Stephen Covey nailed this one and it should be used as a guiding principle in all we do. We must have clear objectives and desired outcomes as we define the path and all the necessary steps. I learned to embrace this in restoration, and it is most helpful to keep top of mind as an approach to executing many tasks and projects.
  4. People First
    At the end of the day, our people in the organization are the greatest asset and make the difference. The right people, values, and leadership are always of the utmost importance to reaching goals. There are countless ways to develop management and leadership skills. There are so many opportunities to grow and develop. A good start is a true and genuine care for people which will propel you to continuously grow and lead you in the right direction. Even if you make mistakes, people who feel cared for and respected will stick together and rise to the challenges.
  5. Things That Get Assigned Get Done
    Be clear on expectations and assignments of responsibilities. The story of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, Nobody reminds us of this important lesson:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgucw8ZJijc
  6. Communicate
    This may be the equivalent of “Flush” in the kindergarten book. It is a vital element for effective internal operations, serving customers, managing resources, and even marketing and business development. Not just communicating, but good communicating and listening are critical.
  7. Best Practices 
    Clearly defined expectations that are documented and repeatable are important to create consistently excellent outcomes. Best practices can lead the way in supporting growth, accountability, and training.
  8. Be Resourceful And Never Stop Learning
    You never know what you need or what you need to know.
  9. Continuous Improvement – You Are Never Done
    The world is constantly changing and evolving. Accept that your work is never done and enjoy the challenges and the opportunities as you go.
  10. It Does Not Work If You Do Not Use It
    This applies to equipment, software, knowledge, and the NeoraFit Wellness & Weight Management System that I purchased.

May sharing the things that I have learned help bring you much continued Restoring Success.

Originally published in R&R Magazine online.

Checking Your Work: Attentiveness to Detail as a New Year Initiative

Posted on by iRestore

Restoring Success

January 6, 2022
Lisa Lavender, M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.

It may be predictable, but there is something about a new year that inspires goal setting, resolutions and fresh visions. I have a personal list of things I plan to do to further develop myself in different ways: improving my effectiveness, efficiency and being more organized to name just a few.

The story of Santa, a toilet and a wrong phone number was told in “He’s Making a List” and emphasized the importance of “checking your work” with some tips for success.

My passion for “checking your work” on an individual and company level comes from the consequences I have observed, and experiences I have had, when this discipline is lacking. The concept applies to both our individual work habits and our company’s operational approach. We all make mistakes and even our best efforts may lead to errors.

We recently had a piece go out with a misspelled word. It was checked at least five times and our director of training operations proofs by reading things backwards to avoid missing a misspelled word. As a team, we missed it; it happens. Next, we examined the matter and developed our approach to checking. The program where the word resided was lacking editing tools; going forward, we will spell check in a different program with better editing capabilities.

Why such a fuss over one word? It is a reflection on our attention to detail. We are trainers and believe in setting an example in all we do. Is it possible that the 100 people who saw this error will think less of us? In the years of observing the fallout of not “checking your work” and being a designated checker, there seems to be a pattern of two possibilities: 1) gaining an understanding of how something could have been missed, versus 2) what seems to be a lack of care.

If you are still searching for a personal or companywide new year initiative, consider “checking your work.” Making progress on this can bring about great rewards. It is a very specific behavior of people who are highly conscientious, a trait consistently tied to positive performance. It is something that applies to all in the organization and can directly impact the credibility, effectiveness, efficiency and quality of service to others.

In addition to some of the tips offered in “He’s Making a List,” the following are considerations for the “check your work” initiatives in your organization:

  • Check your own work: It starts with ourselves. Whether rereading an email or examining our craftsmanship, we should establish habits to check our work, even if someone else will be reviewing it. Identify it as an important practice in our day-to-day work and coach those who may need to improve.
  • Provide training: Include steps that address “checking your work” during training. Do not assume. At Restoration Technical Institute, we incorporate this as a step in our training curriculum.
  • Measure and document outcomes: Whether in a standard of care, best practice or standard operating procedure, having a formalized process for certain types of work that includes a defined inspection and/or testing with supporting documentation of the outcome will give protection, as well as add to the credibility of the services delivered.
  • Be open to constructive feedback: It is important that when we check each other’s work and mistakes are made, identified and corrected, the spirit is positive. Avoid a potential debacle and treat it as an opportunity to do something better in the future.
  • Find a buddy: It is great to have buddies in the company to “check” everything from an estimate to a drywall job when you need fresh eyes.
  • Set clearly defined company expectations: It is difficult to check certain types of work without a clearly defined and communicated expectation. These expectations can be converted into checklists and quality control documents.
  • Establish clear assignment of responsibility: As a company, employ “checking” as a responsibility of a designated individual. For example, the “lead” on the job might be held responsible for checking the job site before leaving. Or, the marketing manager could be assigned the responsibility to check a mass email before it is distributed.
  • Formalized quality control processes and forms: There are certain tasks and/or job types that are suited for a formal quality control process with established control points. This provides consistency and is particularly helpful when there are many variables and/or details. Forms also provide documentation.

The Restoration Technical Institute is offering free access, through the end of January 2022, to our Audits, Inspections & Assessing course, designed to provide ideas and inspiration regarding inspecting, measuring outcomes and tools to help.

May “checking your work” bring you, the team and your company much Restoring Success.

Originally published at randrmagonline.com

Roll it Uphill: A Lesson in Leadership and Accountability

Posted on by iRestore
Photo courtesy: Restoration Technical Institute

Lisa Lavender, M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.

In many cases, when leaders notice dysfunction, something goes wrong or someone does not meet an expectation, it is necessary to resist the blame game and begin by “rolling it uphill.”

The objective is to bring about improvement and/or desired results. We may have all been guilty, at one time or another, of proclaiming:

  • “They just don’t care!”
  • “They don’t know what they are doing!”
  • “They are just lazy!”

It is unproductive and will not lead to improvements that are desired.

A core responsibility of leadership is that one must lead the way, extend trust to others and set everyone up for success. When this approach is part of an organization’s culture, it becomes contagious.  Existing and budding leaders will take the lead, and a theme of continuous improvement will flourish.

The warehouse is a mess. There is a new and very expensive piece of equipment randomly located amidst other equipment, boxes, trash, cords…

Rolling it uphill requires that before we blame the team for being careless or sloppy, we look in the mirror and ask ourselves:

  • Does the new piece of equipment have a place where it belongs?
  • Did the new place where it belongs get communicated to the team?
  • Does everything else have a clearly designated space where it belongs?
  • Do you have a place/space for it?
  • Based on the availability of space to store the piece, might it have been better to rent it?

The acquisition and deployment, including its storage location, must be deliberate. It is not productive to blame a technician for not taking proper care of it if leadership did not consider a storage location for the piece of new equipment prior to its arrival. This example helps illustrate the importance of rolling it uphill and discovering the root causes of issues.

Leaders set others up for success, and they solve problems. Leadership is a behavior and not a title; great leaders seem to naturally roll it uphill.

Roll it Uphill Mindset: 

  • Abandon the notion of, “They don’t care” or “They are lazy.” Don’t even think it. It will ooze out of you. Start with the premise that everyone in the organization wants to succeed and cares about the mission. If you sense that they don’t, roll that uphill and ask yourself how you can better engage them. If it works out that they do not engage and invest in their career, it will work itself out.
  • Believe that the most important element of your job is to inspire greatness and do everything you can to help others succeed. If the new piece of equipment has a designated location and it is effectively communicated, you will be surprised how consistently it will get put away in its designated location.
  • Be humble, objective and move past your emotions. My father, who has mentored many in our company and has helped them develop leadership skills, says it best. It is normal to have an emotional reaction to something but, “You must quickly move past your emotions and get down to business; problem solve.”
  • You want others to solve problems, lead the way, and help others succeed. You want someone to organize the warehouse and find a place for everything. Guess where it starts. With you. The roll-it-uphill mindset will be infectious. Others will start doing it…

Function Analysis Worksheet

Download the Function Analysis Worksheet

Once the mindset is adopted, it is time to lead the way on improvements. It begins by Getting to the ROOT of the Problem. The following offers a simple framework that may help you “roll it uphill,” get to the root and develop an action plan. Simply define the function and apply the following in order:

  1. Is there a defined expectation? A defined expectation could come in many forms: Policy, SOP, best practice, job description, etc. If the answer is “no,” stop here and define the expectation.
  2. Who is responsible? If there is nobody responsible for the function, and/or the defined expectation, this will be a problem. Address it by clearly defining responsibility.
  3. Does the person responsible know the clearly defined expectation? You may be surprised how many issues stem from a crack in the system when a clearly defined expectation was not effectively communicated to the person responsible.
  4. Is there consistent accountability? From my own experience, the functions that consistently meet expectations are the ones that are given consistent attention, not to be confused with time and energy. At times I struggle with tacit approval, I justify it as a time constraint. However, I know based on results this is a leading cause for slippage. You should resist not addressing issues that should be, as doing so will have consequences. Consistency is the key.
  5. Tools and Skills: Are the tools and skills available to those responsible to have the expectations met?
  6. Action Plan: Now that you worked through steps one through five, you may have identified where the breakdown exists and can put together an action plan.

May “rolling it uphill” bring you much continued Restoring Success.

Originally published in R and R Magazine

©2018 At your Service Systems, Inc | A Melior Website

Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map

©2018 At your Service Systems, Inc | A Melior Website

Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map